Two Harvard economists studied countries' relationships between the independence of banks and inflation rates from 1955 to 1990. The independence of banks was rated on a scale of -1.5 to 2.5, with -1.5, 0, and 2.5 corresponding to least, average, and most independence, respectively. The following table gives the values for various countries.

(a) Obtain the least-squares line that fits these data.
(b) What relationship between independence of banks and inflation is indicated by the least-squares line?
(c) Japan has a .6 independence rating. Use the least-squares line to estimate Japan's inflation rate.
(d) The inflation rate for Britain is 6.8. Use the least-squares line to estimate Britain's independence rating.

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Independence | Inflation Rating Rate (%) Country New Zealand -1.4 7.6 Italy -75 7.2 Belgium .3 4.0 France 4 6.0 Canada .9 4.5 United States 1.6 4.0 Switzerland 2.2 3.1